PanAmSat Delivers 2006 World Cup In High Definition to Broadcasters Across Latin America

CORAL GABLES, Fla., June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PanAmSat announced today that it will be delivering the 2006 World Cup to every major Latin American broadcaster for their standard and high-definition channels across the continent. Beginning on June 9, 2006, in Germany, 31 full days of world-class matches will be beamed from Europe to soccer fans across Latin America via the PanAmSat fleet.

"PanAmSat has always played a key role in the delivery of World Cup soccer to fans in Latin America by providing an integrated, completely managed end-to-end solution to both rights holders and non-rights holders of the event," said Carmen Gonzalez-Sanfeliu, vice president, Latin America Operations, PanAmSat. "With a phone call to PanAmSat, a broadcaster can contract for everything from fiber and satellite connectivity, to encryption, play-out, live-shots and SNG services in any of the 12 venue cities hosting the games. As the leading provider of HDTV in the U.S., we are able to share our resources and our know-how with our Latin American customers to provide the delivery of World Cup matches in HDTV to the region."

This year, through multiple paths on the three main video distribution satellites for the region, PAS-9, PAS-3R and PAS-1R, millions of viewers throughout Central and South America will view the highly anticipated games. For coverage of the event to Latin America and the U.S. Spanish-speaking market, PanAmSat will be supporting a number of right holders including Televisa, TV Azteca and Univision by working directly with them to serve their specific requirements.

With more than 15,000 hours of video transmissions booked, PASport, PanAmSat's global broadcast services network, will be using as many as 40 paths across nine satellites: PAS-1R, PAS-2, PAS-3R, PAS-4, PAS-8, PAS-9, PAS-12, Galaxy 3C and Galaxy 4R to deliver standard-definition and high-definition channels of World Cup coverage.

PanAmSat's PASport Broadcast Services team works with vendors and partners to offer customers a seamless, one-point-of-sale service solution. For the 2006 World Cup, PanAmSat will be coordinating with leading companies such as T-Systems, RTL, Multilink, Protel and Arqiva. In addition to being the most extensive and advanced satellite and fiber network in the world, PASport offers a completely integrated solution that enables the customer to receive all the components of a service from booking, billing, customer service and post-sales follow-up from a single supplier.

About PanAmSat

Through its owned and operated fleet of 23 satellites, PanAmSat is a leading global provider of video, broadcasting and network distribution and delivery services. It transmits nearly 2,000 television channels worldwide and, as such, is the leading carrier of standard and high-definition signals. In total, the Company's in-orbit fleet is capable of reaching over 98 percent of the world's population through cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies. In addition, PanAmSat supports the largest concentration of satellite-based business networks in the U.S., as well as specialized communications services in remote areas throughout the world. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.panamsat.com/.